An overlooked problem in model simulations of the thermohaline circulation and heat transport in the Atlantic Ocean

In an analysis of results from the Community Modeling Effort using a suite of models with different horizontal resolution, wind and thermohaline forcing, and mixing parameters, it is shown that the upwelling is always concentrated in the western boundary layer between roughly 30° and 40°N. The vertical transport across 1000 m appears to be controlled by local dynamics and strongly depends on the horizontal resolution and mixing parameters of the model. It is suggested that in models with a realistic deep-water formation rate in the subpolar North Atlantic, the excessive upwelling can be considered at the prime reason for the typically too low meridional overturning rates and northward heat transports in the subtropical North Atlantic. -from Authors